


What Else Is New?

by SquigglyAverageJoe, WithDoveJo9e0 (SquigglyAverageJoe)



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Exes, I guess they aren’t boyfriends right now, Just two lovebirds spitting on a porch swing, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Suicidal Thoughts, Underage Drinking, talking about their feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24082189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquigglyAverageJoe/pseuds/SquigglyAverageJoe, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquigglyAverageJoe/pseuds/WithDoveJo9e0
Summary: Shadow is struggling. Vio wants to help. (Also, The Author Just Wants To Write A Sweet Fic Where Vio Comforts His Boyfriend And The Two Talk About Their Issues)
Relationships: Shadow Link/Vio Link
Comments: 3
Kudos: 52





	What Else Is New?

**Author's Note:**

> In this work, there is mentions of depression, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, though they’re only mentioned. I just wanted to write something nice, so I went for a sweet moment for my OTP where no one is dying/close to death/killing people.

The bed springs keep creaking beneath him. He can’t count on both of his hands that amount of times he’s heard them squeak in this house alone, let alone tonight. It’s another one of _those_ nights, the ones dark and too warm, where the bed seems so comfortable and the idea of sleep—warm, comforting, dulling his senses until everything is but a tired haze—is tempting, and he had this all planned out in his head—he was going to go up to his stairs, do absolutely nothing, listen to Skillet until his ears bled through his headphones and pretend his parents weren’t a floor below him hating his existence, or maybe Shadow just hated their existence, he wasn’t sure anymore—but his execution of said plans is poor from what seems to be no fault of his own.

He feels exhausted, mentally, but he has for all of spring break. Of course, all of his friends had stuff to do without him but together but of course they did, what else was new? So what if Shadow just ended up staying at home doing nothing? So what if he just locked himself in his room for the entire week? Maybe his parents would forget about him and he could just decay slowly in the approaching spring time heat, and then his friends would completely forget about him and eventually his parents would move out, and Shadow would be a ghost haunting the attic, terrorizing real estate agents and making friends with spiders and mice. It’d be great fun.

He sighs and forces his eyes shut, his body to relax. For a minute, he thinks for sure, he’s going to fall asleep.

_Hey,_ his brain whispers. _What do you think Vio’s up to right about now?_

“Damnit,” he mutters. “You’ve got to be effing kidding me.”

A spring in his bed is beginning to poke through the fabric. It is currently stabbing him in the back. “Shit.” He sits up and rests his head in his hands, rubbing at his temples. Now he can’t _stop_ thinking about Vio, but what else is new?

Goddesses—how did Vio manage to stay on his mind even when Shadow’s pissed at him? He reaches beneath his pillow and grasps at his phone. The brightness sears his eyes—he turns it down immediately and goes to his messages.

His last text conversation with Vio happened twelve days ago—and it was only about how one of them had hung up on the other during their video call. Shadow scowls—even if it was an accident, it hadn’t been the first time, and he was just really sick of Vio’s shit. At the same time, he absolutely adores Vio and is willing to put up with it—if Vio makes the first move.

But Vio hasn’t spoken to him in—well, now it’s thirteen days.

Thirteen days without Vio. Is life even worth living at this point? He thinks it as some sort of terrible joke to himself, especially considered what he attempted _last year,_ but he’s genuinely wondering that and he hates it—because on his good days, he’s still miserable but knows that at least that sort of thinking is unhealthy and can just dismiss it as a thought. On his bad days, it’s not a thought—it’s an _urge,_ an itch resting right below his skin, a desire in his bloodstream and swelling in his chest and he hates it, hates the way it makes him feel.

His phone vibrates—his heart skips a beat when he realizes its Vio. He tries to think—if he accepts now, it just means he’s going back to Vio and he’s pretty sure he needs distance, time away from him to clear his head, but...he wants Vio. He needs to hear his voice, he’s losing his mind, he needs him right now.

“Hey.” His voice cracks.

Vio smiles—he’s sitting in that area in the corner of his bedroom by the lamp, in the chair he’s in when he’s reading or studying or something. “Hey, what’s up?”

“What do you mean _what’s up?”_ He asks. “You’re the one who called me.”

He shifts in the chair and Shadow knows he’s holding his phone with both of his hands. The look in his eyes are gentle, but his expression is serious. “I’m worried.” Shadow is silent. “You won’t answer anyone’s texts with anything other then these short vague answers. Every time Red video chats with you, if he brings up me, he says you stop talking and hang up or grow quiet, or just act weird.”

They dated for half a year! Of course he was acting weird!

“And you haven’t texted me since like...almost two weeks ago at this point,” Vio says. “And...It’s been two months since...” He clears his throat. “Are you okay?”

_No, he’s not fucking okay._ Why the fuck would anything be okay right now? Nothing is okay. Everything fucking sucks. “Yeah, sure, totally.”

“...Shadow,” Vio says. “You could have just said your hair was on fire and I would have been more convinced of your okayness than that response.”

“I’m fine.”

“No.” He rubs at his eyes. “You’re not, Shadow. What happened?”

He crosses his arms and curses Vio’s name in his head. “My parents didn’t know we were dating...They just found out we broke up and...” His voice cracks again. He clenches his hand into a fist. “I hate them.”

“Shadow, what did they say?”

“...They said of course you would break up with me. I was just a phase.”

Vio exhales a breath. “They don’t know shit.”

_I don’t know shit either,_ he thinks. _I thought everything was fine..._

“Shadow, are you okay? Please, be honest with me.”

“Fine. No. I’m not okay. Can I go to bed now?”

“...I want to talk,” he said. “I don’t want you to just...I care about you. I want to talk.”

“Okay,” he said. “We can talk. We’re talking.” There’s a creak somewhere in the house and he gets up, looking around. If his parents walk in...

“No.” Vio sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose. “Not like this...If I go over there and bring my car, will you be ready in ten minutes?”

He’s glad his room his dark, because Vio can’t see he’s in a knee-length tee and sweatpants. “I’m already ready.”

“Okay. I’ll have you home by morning. I’ll see you in ten minutes.”

He hangs up—Shadow rushes to put on an outfit. He tries to think, what would Vio like him in? _What’s the best outfit to use to quietly seduce Vio but not being obvious about it?_ He puts on a black tee and jeans and hurries with his eyeliner. His phone vibrates—Vio’s already here?

He hurries to the window. Around the corner, he sees Vio’s car—he watches him jump a fence and stand in the backyard. Shadow opens his window and climbs out but doesn’t close it. He looks at Vio and crosses his arms.

“Come on.” His voice is gentle. “Let’s go to my house, we’ll talk there.” He walks side by side with Vio, and it’s all his strength to not sling an arm around his shoulders or hold his hand. He can’t do that—they’re not dating anymore. He can’t, he can’t, they’re just... _friends_ now.

Vio is his best friend, but he doesn’t think he’s Vio’s anymore. And it hurts, to care about someone who used to love you but doesn’t anymore, who keeps insisting you _need more time,_ but you don’t, because anymore time apart from them will break you... Shadow feels his shoulders slump while he sits in the passenger seat.

The night air is cool on his face. He swallows and tries to bite back that terrible mixture of longing and anger rising into his chest. The car is silent, but faintly, Shadow can hear Vio breathing and it’s heavenly...

How does he still miss him so damn much?

In a matter of moments, they pull up outside Vio’s house and he gets out. Shadow gets out much slower, follows him onto the porch. “Wait right here,” Vio says. “I’m gonna get something—you don’t mind talking out here, do you?”

_So long as it’s with you._ He shrugs, sits down on the porch swing. Vio smiles and goes into the house for a minute.

When he returns he has two bottles of beer—the good stuff, the one Shadow really likes. Vio opens one and hands it to him, but Shadow doesn’t drink it right away—he tries to focus on the feel of the ice cold glass on his skin. There’s a gentle breeze tonight. It should be calm and peaceful, but all Shadow wants to do is scream.

“I’m ready to talk whenever you are.”

Shadow swallows and takes a gulp of beer, hoping it’ll help summon his courage. “I kind of hate you right now.”

Vio looks at him. “Oh.”

“I mean...I don’t _really_ hate you,” because how could he hate Vio? “I just...I don’t understand you!”

“Shadow, I’m sure you just—“

“We dated for six months, Vi.” He swallows the lump rising into his throat. “That’s half a year. We dated a little longer than six months and I thought everything was great! And you broke up with me, just out of the blue. Just, ‘hey, we should talk. We should break up. I still want to be friends.’ And then you went days without speaking to me.” He takes another sip—Vio is quiet—because he wants to let him talk or because what Shadow’s saying is hurting him. “And every time you’re like, ‘we need time,’ like, time is the last thing I need! I...” He crosses his arms. “And was I just not good enough for you? Almost every date you canceled so you could study, instead, and I...I would plan a new one and plans would fall through at the last minute...And I had to initiate everything!”

“Not everything—“

“Those two times you kissed me on the cheek after I said a compliment don’t count. I was always the one kissing you, I was the one trying to plan the dates, I was the one grabbing your hand...And I know I should be over it all by now because we aren’t going to do any of that again, but I’m _not,_ okay? That _hurt._ And I’d let it happen a thousand times over, I would let it hurt, because not dating you hurts even more, and it’s not like, I’m upset about this just cause we broke up, you said you wanted to be my friend still! ANd....you barely talk to me! I...I was your best friend before we started dating and...you said I still was, but now I’m not. Why? What did I do? What’s so wrong with me, Vi?”

“Shadow...” He places his bottle on the ground. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

Shadow snorts. “No one wants to hear about how lonely and depressed their ex is. And at this point, I think that’s all I am to you. Your ex. Well, you’re still my best friend, Vio—even though I think your being a dick.”

“Oh, Shadow, I...” He turns. “...You know we’re moving, right?”

“I wanted to try long distance.”

“I get that...” Vio sighs. “I don’t think I could do it. Knowing I’m dating you, but...never being able to kiss you? Or I guess, have you kiss me. Never holding your hand. Never getting to watch you smile...I couldn’t do it.” Shadow rolls his eyes—Vio’s doing all of this, been doing all of this for a long time now. “And...I don’t...Shadow, I was so in love with you, but we had to break up.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He rubs at his eyes. “This was a waste of time.”

Vio grabs his wrist when he tries to leave. “Wait...” He takes a shaky breath. “I’m really happy to see you, okay, Shadow? And...oh, fuck...” He swallows and wipes his palms on his jeans. “I miss you and I still...I still...”

Shadow’s heart is pounding, but probably for no good reason. “Spit it out already.”

Vio smiles at him and pulls him towards him. “I still love you, Shadow. Way more than I let on and I have this entire time, I just...” His smile falters. “I don’t what to do. I don’t know how to show it, at all, and...” He swallows. “ _Ialwayskindofwantedtogofarther.”_

Shadow blinks. “What?”

Vio is blushing. “I...I always wanted to do these...things that...I wasn’t sure if you’d like...like, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear...or cupping your cheek, or...you know...kissing for longer.”

“And the smart thing to do was break up with me?”

“Well, obviously, not. But I thought, I’ll just move away like, right after we start making out and then we’ll break up, and I’ll be the asshole who made out with you before breaking up. I didn’t want you to hate me like that. And now that we pushed the moving date so far back...” He sighs. “I keep regretting it, but I don’t know how to bring it up, because I know you took it hard. And...I keep worrying I’ll be around you and...I’ll do something dumb.”

Shadow wipes at his eyes. He hates everything but not Vio. “What about our tax benefit marriage?” He demands.

Vio smiles and pulls him close. “We’re still doing that. For the tax benefits. Totally not because I have the biggest crush on you.”

Shadow sighs and wipes at his eyes again. “Goddesses, you suck...”

“Yeah.” He grabs his hand. “I do. ...Will you take me back and let me work on that?”

Shadow thinks for a minute—partially because he believes he’s dreaming. “I will...If you say it like you mean it.”

Vio lets go of his hand and kneels on the porch, grabbing his hand again. “Shadow, dearest, I’ve been an awful boyfriend and I really should have appreciated you more because you’re the prettiest boy in Hyrule. Won’t you take me back, my love?”

Shadow blushes. “Yes!” He doesn’t sound desperate _at all._

Vio smiles—but he’s blushing too. “Great.”

Shadow lets himself relax. Vio kisses his forehead. “I’m gonna kick your parents’ ass they say anything else about your sexuality,” he says, gently. Shadow smiles. Has he been this tired the entire time? “I love you, Shadow. I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk.”

He holds his hand. “I forgive you.” He wraps an arm around Vio’s waist. Vio’s entire body is warm and Shadow isn’t sure if he’s ever been closer with him. “I love you, too.”

This is definitely new.


End file.
